1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a method for cooking of a cooking load, containing at least two, especially lumpy, cooking items, the cooking state of which can be characterized in each case with at least two cooking state parameters, comprising a first cooking state parameter and a second cooking state parameter, in a cooking chamber using at least one measuring device for picking up data of at least one property of at least one cooking item, which determines at least one of the cooking state parameters, which changes as a result of the cooking process, whereby at least two of the cooking items of the cooking load differ in their size, in their total surface, in their volume, in their weight and/or in their diameter, especially in their mean diameter. Furthermore, the invention concerns a cooking device with a cooking chamber, with at least one measuring device, especially in the form of a core temperature probe for picking up a first and/or a second cooking state parameter of at least one cooking item, a heating device and a controller for automatic conduction of a cooking process, the controller receiving the output signal of the measuring device as input signal, according to which a process according to the invention is implemented.
2. Related Technology
In conventional cooking devices as is known for example from DE 229 23 215, in which a core temperature probe can be introduced into a cooking item, especially in the form of a piece of meat, as a rule the cooking process is completed when the core temperature of the piece of meat has reached a predetermined value (desired core temperature). Hereby it can be provided that different phases of the cooking process are initiated when the core temperature reaches a predetermined values during the cooking process. However, optimum cooking results with these cooking devices can mostly be achieved only when strictly delineated conditions are observed with regard to the nature, amount and size of the cooking item. For example, unsatisfactory results are obtained with such cooking devices when the individual pieces of meat differ in their size, that is, in their total surface, in their volume or in their diameter. Thus, for example, the value of the core temperature at which the browning or crusting phase is to be initiated depends greatly on the thickness of the pieces of meat to be cooked. In a purely time-based control of the cooking process with conventional cooking methods, therefore, sometimes one obtains pieces of meat with either too light or too heavy browning. The complexity of the cooking process for simultaneous cooking of a number of pieces of meat of different size in a cooking device is increased further by the fact that the time at which the browning or crusting phase is to be initiated usually also depends on the number of cooking items in the cooking chamber.
With the aid of additional input parameters, which are relevant for the time of the initiation of different preparation phases, for example the thickness or size of a piece of meat, a cooking process adjusted to the special properties of the individual cooking item could be achieved with the known equipment. However, this regularly requires additional measuring and/or weighing processes by the user before the startup of the cooking device and leads to a significant increase of the amount of data which must be stored and imagined in the computer unit of the cooking device in order to be able to make available the particular conditions for the optimum cooking process.
For example, a cooking process is known from EP 1 022 972 B1 in which, by using the time dependence of the measured quantities, which concern properties of a cooking item that change during the cooking process, one can take into consideration the amount and especially the thickness of the cooking item during the conduction of the cooking process, as long as we are dealing with an essentially homogeneous cooking load, that is, the cooking items do not differ significantly from one another in their size.
Especially in the case of cooking loads containing a large number of pieces of meat with highly different size, frequently unsatisfactory cooking results are obtained with the conventional cooking devices, both with regard to the internal degree of cooking, determined for example by the juiciness, as well as with regard to the external cooking degree, determined, for example, by the state of browning or crusting. While small pieces of meat generally have pronounced thick crusts with high degree of browning and are completely cooked, sometimes also overcooked and therefore dry, in the case of large pieces of meat, one obtains only a slightly browned external appearance and the inside is frequently not completely cooked. Since the user of cooking devices is almost constantly confronted with having to cook pieces of meat of different size, there is a need for improved cooking devices which no longer have the disadvantages of the state of the art.